


Family Visits

by Weevilo707



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Babysitting, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Uncle Taako, barry leave angus with taako while searching for lup, blupjeans baby ango
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:27:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23740786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weevilo707/pseuds/Weevilo707
Summary: Taako didn't know what the fuck to think when he woke up to find a crib just sitting in his caravan one morning. He sure as fuck didn't know what to think of the little half-elf kid sleeping inside of it. The note that was left didn't do much to answer his questions, instead just assuring him that this wasn't a permanent thing. Claiming that he'd only have to watch the kid for a few months. There was no name for who had left it, but apparently the kid was called Angus.The letter ended up holding true, and Taako found himself thrust into a particularly strange part of his life. Every year or so Angus would show up, staying from anywhere from weeks to months at a time. Taako never heard who left him or who came to pick him up, and he should probably be more weirded out by that than he was.Angus was a good kid though, so Taako wasn't going to complain that much.
Relationships: Angus McDonald & Taako
Comments: 43
Kudos: 347





	Family Visits

When the baby first shown up in the back of his caravan, Taako’s general reaction was that his life was already so goddamn weird. This might as well happen.

He’d been doing this whole traveling chef thing for about a year now, and was starting to carve out a pretty good name for himself. A good enough name that he was starting to think that maybe he should hire some sort of help soon. At the very least, some hired muscle would be a good idea. He hadn’t been mugged yet, but he didn’t want to wait until he was to do something about it.

Still, he felt like he’d been doing alright for himself. Shit was definitely looking up. Before this he’d been… he’d just been kind of adrift. Lost, traveling with no real destination or desire. Nothing to ground himself.

Sizzle It Up With Taako had been a fucking godsend, happening so suddenly and bringing his life back into focus. He’s Taako, from TV and the whole world was going to know that soon enough.

But before that could happen, he needed to do a bit more legwork. Keep on pushing his brand and setting up shows and wowing his audience.

And before he could do any of  _ that, _ he had to figure out what to do with the fucking situation he’d just woken up to.

Said situation was laying in a rather nice looking crib that had definitely not been in the caravan when he went to sleep that night. The Situation, as Taako had started thinking of them, was also still asleep. All wrapped up in a bright red blanket, with a note folded up and stuck to the top of said crib. The note had ‘Taako’ written across it in a fast, sketchy handwriting. He had not taken the note yet, because he was a little afraid of reaching over and accidentally waking it.

The curiosity and desire for  _ some _ sort of answers for this was too much though, so Taako very carefully reached over. The situation rolled slightly, and Taako froze, his arm held up over it until it stopped moving. He could see a small pointed ear peaking out of the blanket now, not long enough to be a full elf.

Once it seemed to have settled down into sleep again, Taako tore off the note and took a few steps back to read it.

_ Taako, _

_ Hey so first of all sorry. I guess this is probably weird but I didn’t really have anyone else I trusted to watch him. I promise this isn’t a permanent thing, I just need someone to take care of him for a little while. A couple weeks, maybe a few months at most. _

_ His name’s Angus. He’s about a year and a half old now and likes to play little hide and seek games. His favorite food is carrots and he’s real smart. I promise he won’t be too much trouble. _

_ Thanks _

There was no name attached to this, no return to sender address that he could track down and shove the actual, literal baby back at whoever had left them here. Just some basic information about the child sleeping in his caravan, no explanation for how he even got in there in the first place, and some vague promise that it wouldn’t be a permanent thing.

There was a bag under the crib, and Taako was careful to be quiet as he pulled it out. It seemed to be more general baby supplies, enough to at least last until they made it to the next town. Taako had a show planned there in two days, he’d been pretty jived about it. It was hard to think about that now that this whole bullshit was going on.

He could just leave the kid. He wasn’t  _ his, _ and whoever had left him here hadn’t given him any sort of reason to actually keep him around. Like, he wasn't going to leave him on the side of the road or anything, he wasn’t a fucking monster. Still, he could drop him off in the next town and be done with this because it was all frankly none of his business.

The baby started moving a bit more now, and Taako didn’t know a lot about kids but he could tell that he was waking up. As he watched the kid slowly opened his eyes, and Taako expected him to start crying once he took in the fact that he was in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar person. There was definitely a moment where he looked around, and then his eyes fell on Taako.

He was surprised when the kid didn’t cry, instead reaching out towards him and starting to babble for attention.

Damn it.

“Alright, let’s get you some food I guess?” he said, plucking the kid out of the crib. There was definitely some affirming sounds at that, and Taako was pretty sure he was too young to properly talk yet. As he cooked up some sorta baby mush though (it was some damn tasty baby mush, Angus should consider himself lucky) he figured out the kid could manage one or two simple words. He definitely knew his name, and for some reason he didn’t seem all that bothered with being dumped on a total stranger.

By the time he got to town two days later, the kid had started crying for his dad a little bit. Not a mom though, so Taako had to guess his dad was the one to leave him here. Otherwise though he was fine, pretty easily entertained and distracted.

He still could have left him somewhere once he got to town. He didn’t actually have time to take care of some kid. He didn’t have the fucking faculties to take care of a kid. He lived out of his food truck and couldn’t even read a map. The fact that he’d managed this long on his own was mostly luck.

Somehow though Taako found himself just not leaving the kid. He kept him in the back when he was doing a show, close enough that if he started crying Taako would  _ probably _ be able to hear him. Mostly he tried to keep him out of sight, he didn’t want to answer any questions if someone wanted to know why he had a baby with him.

Taako told himself he’d give the dad some time. He said this wasn't going to be permanent, so he’d give him a chance to come back and get his kid. Six months maybe, at most. If he wasn’t back for him by then he’d have to find a more permanent place for Angus. Growing up on the road wasn’t fair to any kid, and Taako was self aware enough to know he couldn’t be an actual parent. Watch some brat for a bit, he might be able to manage. Any actual long lasting raising wasn’t going to end well.

It was maybe four months after Angus had showed up without any sort of warning. Taako had started getting into a routine, even if he wasn’t all that consistent with it. Still, he woke up pretty early most days now, because if he didn’t Angus would make sure he did as soon as he got hungry. It was easier to wake up first so that he had time to prepare some food for the kid.

Taako climbed out of bed, stretching until his back cracked. Turning towards the crib, he only meant to glance in to see if Angus was awake or not yet.

There as a moment where Taako felt his heart stop in a panic at the empty crib. He’d been worried that Angus was getting big enough to climb out on his own, but shit he didn’t think it would happen yet. This was exactly why no one should leave him with a kid.

He was just about to start tearing apart the food truck when he saw the note folded up in the center of the crib. A familiar scratchy handwriting had written his name on the front, and this time Taako didn’t hesitate to grab it, snatching up the piece of paper and quickly unfolding it.

The note was even shorter than the last one. It barely even constituted a note at all. Still, when he compared it to the last one Taako could say with pretty high certainty that it was written by the same person, even if it was just one word.

_ Thanks. _

Doing a quick scan of the caravan cart, it seemed like the dude had taken all of Angus’s stuff. He’d left the crib, and he hadn’t taken anything else that belonged to Taako. He still wasn’t sure how the fuck someone had managed to get in and out of here so quietly, get a whole kid out without him noticing a damn thing. It was definitely unnerving as fuck, but it was also over. A weird couple of months where some total stranger made him babysit his kid and left with him just as quickly as he came.

Weird, but a lot of shit was weird. Taako figured it would be best to put the whole ‘situation’ behind him now. So he did. His next stop he finally got around to hiring some extra help on the show, making sure to get rid of the crib first. He didn’t need it taking up the extra space since he was gonna have someone else, like an actual adult sized person, traveling with him too.

Sazed was nice enough. Decently intimidating stature enough that he could scare off most petty thieves, clearly enamored with Taako’s act, and desperately eager to please. Taako might have actually gotten used to having someone else around to talk to with Angus too, because he was kind of relieved when he hired the guy. This way he wasn’t talking at thin air, like he used to do before Angus showed up.

He didn’t mention the kid to Sazed though. He was trying to pretend that all never happened, and after a few months that might as well have been the case. It was so weird and unexplained, no evidence left of it ever having happened it might as well have been a fever dream.

Nearly a year later, and Taako had almost convinced himself that it was just some weird dream.

And then one morning he woke up, so late it was basically the afternoon. They’d had a late show the night before, and Taako was still getting used to the whole magic thing. Getting out of bed, he started he head out towards the main part of the caravan to get himself some breakfast.

Before actually leaving the room though he froze, having to carefully turn back around. What he was looking at was less of a crib, more of a little cot with raised sides to keep from rolling off. Still, it hadn’t been there when he went to sleep, there was a very similar situation sleeping inside of it, and another note labeled with his name in scratchy handwriting on the front.

“Oh what the  _ fuck?” _ he asked, snatching up the note quickly this time. Angus slept through it, and it was for sure Angus. He’d gotten bigger than the last time Taako saw him, the kid had to be almost three now, but Taako couldn’t focus on that. Instead he was reading the once again painfully short note.

_ Hey Taako, _

_ Sorry to put this on you again, but I’ve got some stuff I need to do and I need to make sure Angus is safe. He really liked staying with you last time, I appreciate this. Same deal, shouldn’t be more than a couple months or so, a year at most I promise. _

Taako just stared in disbelief. So it wasn’t a fucking dream then. Angus was real.

“Yeah alright, I guess we’re fucking doing this thing. Whoever your dad is better not actually make me wait a whole damn year, cha boy’s got shit to do,” he said, folding the note back up and leaving it on the small end table by what passed as his bed. Heading over to the set up Angus had, there was another bag, but the content was a little different this time. Taako guessed updated, since it did look like he’d grown a lot in the time he’d been gone.

While he was looking through the bags Angus started waking up, and the kid could actually push himself up on his own now without any sort of issue. Once again, Taako wasn’t sure if Angus would immediately be scared about being somewhere new. There was an obvious moment of confusion, but then he caught sight of Taako and his face lit up in excitement.

“Uncle Ko!” he shouted, and well, that wasn’t the reaction Taako was expecting exactly.

“It’s Taako Angus,” he said, and when he was smiling like this Taako could see that he had most of his teeth now.

“Uncle Taako!” Angus repeated, and he was getting up and reaching for him. Taako might have had the chance to leave the kid the first time, but it didn’t seem like that was gonna be an option now. Sighing, Taako went over and picked the kid up. He was definitely a bit heavier than last time, but it wasn’t too bad balancing him on his shoulder. 

“So uh, I guess you’re gonna be hanging around for a bit again, huh?” he asked, and Angus nodded, still grinning widely.

“Daddy said stay with uncle Ko!” he said, poking Taako in the chest for emphasis as he did. Taako wasn’t quite heartless enough to not acknowledge that it was fucking precious. He would have loved to be able to ask some more questions about who exactly his dad  _ was, _ but he got a feeling Angus might still be a little bit too young to give any useful information.

“Alright well, since you’re gonna be staying here for a while I take it you’re gonna want breakfast, huh?” he asked, and maybe Taako had a soft spot for the kid. Maybe he was still reeling from the fact that he was apparently real and not a one long weird dream he had.

“Yes please,” Angus said, and Taako kept the kid on his hip as he headed out into the main area of the caravan. He might have been pretty damn distracted by the sudden addition to his life again, so he kind of forgot Sazed was a thing. The dude dropped the spoon he was using to eat his cereal when he saw them, and Taako guessed the shocked look on his face was pretty warranted.

“Uh, Taako? What, um, what the fuck?” he asked, and Taako shrugged. It wasn’t like he knew the answer.

“This is Angus, he’ll be here a while,” he said, heading over to find something for the kid to eat. He was starting to branch out by the time he left last time, so Taako figured he could probably start getting a bit more interesting with the meals now.

“Hi!” Angus said happily, waving at Sazed.

“How you feeling on pancakes little man?” Taako asked, having to move the kid from one side to the other. He’d have to put him down soon, but that could wait until he started cooking so that he could have something to distract him with.

“Pancakes!” Angus cheered, which was a good enough answer for Taako.

“Pancakes it is,” he said, putting Angus down so that he could actually get supplies out. Thankfully it didn’t seem like he had any intentions of running off, sticking close and trying to see everything Taako was doing.

“Hey, Taako?” Sazed asked, his voice coming out in an uncertain hiss, like he wasn’t sure if he should be talking in front of Angus. Taako guessed he couldn’t blame the dude for being confused and weirded out, he definitely never mentioned anything like this before.

“Sup homie?” he asked, having to push the carton of eggs back further when Angus tried his best to grab it. He couldn’t quite reach the counters yet, but still better safe than sorry.

“Can we talk a minute?” he asked. It was fair, Sazed had been working for him for almost a year now, and if  _ Sazed _ had walked out with a kid on his hip one day acting like it was a totally normal thing, he probably would have been pissed.

“Yeah alright. Hey Ango, I saw your dad left a couple of toys with you. Why don’t you go pick one out to eat with,” he said, trying to think of some reason to get the kid to leave. It seemed to work real well, Angus quickly nodding and rushing back towards what constituted Taako’s room.

“Okay Uncle Ko!” he said as he left. Sazed definitely made a face at that.

“Uncle? You never mentioned a nephew before,” he said, and Taako shrugged. He didn’t know how to explain this, because  _ he _ didn’t fucking understand it. He barely even knew enough to know how to lie.

“Yeah, don’t see his parents much,” he said, feeling like lying was the safest option right now. He trusted Sazed well enough, but this whole thing was still weird. He kind of preferred that people not know he decided to just watch after a kid out of the blue from one note. Angus was a half-elf too, so they could probably pass for being related.

“Is this just like, a family visit?” he asked, and Taako shook his head, starting to work on the pancakes.

“His dad’s busy. Gonna be watching him for a while,” he said, and even though he wasn’t looking at Sazed he could feel the dude’s hesitance at that.

“How long do you think?” he asked, and Taako shrugged, pouring some batter into the pan.

“Couple months at least,” he said. He wasn’t sure how Sazed reacted to that, because Angus came running back in at that.

“Goose!” he announced, and when Taako looked down he expected to see some sort of big bird stuffed animal or something. So he couldn’t help but snort in amusement when he saw what Angus was actually holding up proudly.

“That’s a mongoose pumpkin,” he said, and Angus nodded fiercely.

“I know! His name is goose,” he said, like it was obvious. Which hey, that was fair enough. Taako couldn’t argue with that.

“Alright, well uh, wait with Goose while I finish these up,” he said, and Angus nodded. He barely managed to climb up onto one of the seats, and it was still hard for him to properly sit at the table. It didn’t take long to finish the pancakes, and by then Taako had sent Sazed off to get them heading along the road.

Angus ended up staying wit them for seven months this time. Longer than the last, at some point they passed his next birthday, the kid turning four. Sazed mostly stayed away from Angus when he could, and Taako supposed it made sense. He didn’t know kids were going to be involved when he took this job, although to be fair neither did Taako.

It happened just like the last time. One day Taako woke up, and when he went to check on Angus the bed was empty again. Taako didn’t panic quite so much this time, seeing the note laying in the middle quickly. It was basically the same as last time, but it wasn’t just the one word.

_ Thanks. Also, sorry I forgot I should probably pay you. I’ll leave some money up front next time. Gold’s on the dresser. _

Taako quickly turned to the dresser, and there was indeed a bag that hadn’t been there before. Grabbing it, there was almost 600 gold inside, which, holy shit. He did not have any fucking idea who Angus’s dad was, but he did not think they’d be the kind of person to be able to shell out that much if they were leaving their kid with some random traveling elf for like half a year at a time. Someone with that kind of money could just  _ pay _ a regular old babysitter. Hell, get a live in nanny.

He immediately hid the gold. As much as he appreciated having Sazed around to check the budgeting and shit, it was definitely a little unnerving having someone else know exactly how much money he had. A part of him felt much more at ease with this, having a little safety net that no one else knew about but him, just in case something broke real bad. He didn’t think it would, Sizzle It Up was his fucking passion and it was only growing bigger each day, but still. It didn’t hurt to be prepared.

And life continued. Sazed asked once where Angus was, and Taako just said his dad had picked him up late last night. It was the truth, Taako just didn’t ever get to actually meet the guy.

The next time Angus showed up, the kid was five. Instead of Taako waking up to find him asleep in the small bed Taako had left sitting there (out of laziness, he told himself) he was woken up by someone nudging him forcefully.

“Uncle Taako! Uncle Taako wake up!” A familiar voice said. Taako groaned, rolling over and pulling his blanket up over his head. “Aw,” the kid complained, and Taako huffed.

“When'd you get here?” he asked, reluctantly pushing himself up. The kid had gotten bigger, and he had glasses now.

“Last night. Oh! Dad said to give you something,” he said, running away from the bed. There were a couple bags shoved in a corner, and Angus quickly rummaged through them before coming back with a small satchel and a letter. Taako could feel the heavy coins in the bag when he handed it over, and he wasn’t surprised by the letter.

_ Hey bud, _

_ Same deal as last time, shouldn’t be as long though. Maybe just a couple weeks. Left some money anyway. Thanks again _

“Your dad said a few weeks this time?” he asked, and Angus nodded.

“Yeah, he promised he’d be quick this time,” he said. Taako mostly didn’t talk about the kid’s dad while he was with him, or ever honestly. Still, he was getting older, and Taako was real fucking curious.

“Alright well, let me wake up and I’ll make you some breakfast,” he said, Angus grinning widely at that. Standing up, Taako stretched and tried to think of a way to approach the topic casually. “Hey Ango?” he asked, the kid perking up as he was addressed.

“Yeah?”

“Did your dad happen to say what he’s doing while I’m watching you?” he asked, and thankfully Angus didn’t seem too bothered by the question.

“He’s looking for mom,” he said, and Taako paused at that. That… wasn’t what he was expecting. Looking down at this little half elf kid, he figured there had to be some sort of story there. He’d already assumed that the mom wasn’t in the picture, since she’d never been mentioned before. He hadn’t put anymore thought into it than that though.

“Oh well, hopefully he finds her soon and can come take you off my hands,” he said, ruffling Angus’s hair as he started out of his tiny bedroom. Angus laughed, running along after him.

“No you like me, it’s fun here,” he insisted. Taako rolled his eyes, starting to look through for something to make for breakfast. He used up most of his flour for the show last night, but he still had lots of eggs left.

Sazed did a double take the next time he came in and saw Angus, but other than that mostly left the kid alone. That was fine by Taako, and Angus also didn’t seem to mind. The kid was getting older and followed Taako around like a lost puppy. Taako still made sure to keep him out of sight during the show, but that mostly meant making sure he sat right off to the side of the performance area of his stagecoach as he watched.

“Uncle Ko! Look at my picture,” Angus said, running up to him with a piece of paper in hand. Taako had gotten that and some colors for the kid to keep him occupied while he was planning Sizzle It Up routines. He looked up from the notebook he was scribbling half a recipe down in to see what Angus was trying to show him.

“Oh, cool kiddo,” he said, frowning a little as he looked at the drawing. Two of the figures he could pretty confidently identify. The little one with dark curly hair, small pointed ears, and glasses was Angus, and the taller one with long brown hair, longer ears, and a wizard hat was Taako.

He didn’t know what to make of the solid red scribble that kind of looked like a floating cloak with a big black circle where a face should be.

“Who’s that buddy?” he asked, pointing towards the weird red apparition. Angus looked at where he was indicating, a slightly confused look on his face at the question before a bright smile came back.

“That’s my dad!”

“Oh,” Taako said, and that- uh, yeah. He wasn’t sure what to do with that information. So he just didn’t do anything, filing it away in his head.

It wasn’t the only time Angus ended up drawing his dad like that. In fact, whenever the kid drew his dad, he was that same weird floating cloak thing, always a bright red with a black circle for a face. It was fucking ominous as hell, but Angus didn’t even seem to notice.

The letter ended up being right. Three weeks after Angus showed up he was gone again. Another small note left in his place, thanking Taako once again.

And it continued. The next time Angus showed up it was a year later, and the now six year old was a fucking handful. Sharp as nails and wanting to get into fucking everything. Bugging Taako to explain what recipe he was doing, asking him how his magic worked, always underfoot as Taako tried to go about his day. It was annoying, but Taako put up with it for the three months Angus ended up staying with him anyway. Used most of the kid’s energy to help him out in the kitchen, having him wash dishes or husk corn or other simple, menial tasks.

It was weird, and Taako wasn’t sure why it had never felt as weird as he knew it was. He guessed he’d always had a bit of a soft spot for kids, and the situation was kind of too bizarre to really question. Still, it was strange, he knew it was strange.

The good thing was that as Angus got older Taako felt a little less cautious about asking him just what was going on with everything.

After the three month visit, it was another 6 before he showed up again. He was getting bigger each time, and the letter had apologized when it said he might be gone for a while this time.

“So, your dad’s still looking for your mom?” he asked. Sazed was driving the carts up front, so him and Angus were in the back of the caravan alone. Taako had roped the kid into helping him set up dinner, not that Angus seemed to mind any. He nodded, biting his lip and his little ears pointed turned down in concentration as he tried to stir the batter Taako had passed him.

“Yeah, he said he got a lead on where she might be,” he said. Okay that was confirmation on what Taako already figured, with the mom probably being missing.

“Do you know what happened to her?” he asked, and Angus shook his head.

“She disappeared when I was still a baby. Dad doesn’t know where she went, but he thinks she’s gotta be trapped somewhere cause she said she’d be back soon,” Angus explained. Taako wondered if that was true, or if this was just some sad case of a mom running out. He didn’t know Angus’s dad, but he hoped that wasn’t the case. He seemed like a nice dude, and Angus clearly fucking loved him, so hopefully he wasn’t putting all this effort into someone who wasn’t even worth it.

“And why can’t he ever take you with him?” he asked, taking the mixing bowl from Angus so that he could properly stir everything.

“He says it’s too  _ dangerous,” _ he said, an annoyed huff to his voice. Taako chuckled at that, because of course Angus was annoyed by that.

“Yeah well, he’s probably right about that,” he said, Angus not looking any happier with Taako taking his dad’s side. He saw the kid’s eyes wander, and then light when at the sight of something.

“You kept my old drawings?” he asked, moving around Taako to get a better look. He glanced over, and he’d almost forgotten he’d had a couple of those things still stuck up on the side of the fridge.

“Oh yeah, those things,” he said, and then he paused. Angus was almost eight now, in fact he’d probably turn eight before his dad came to pick him up. Taako made a mental note to make sure to have some cake supplies on hand in case that did happen. Glancing at the pictures again, Angus still didn’t seem particularly bothered by them. “Hey, can I ask something?”

“Sure uncle Taako,” he said, and that was another thing that was always a little strange. He wondered if his dad had told him to call him uncle or something, and if so why.

“Why’d you draw your dad like that?” he asked, and Angus turned back towards him, a confused look on his face.

“Because that’s what he looks like?” he said back, head cocked to the side slightly like he didn’t understand the question. Taako knew Angus was aware he’d never actually met the dude before, so he felt like the question was warranted. He wasn’t sure what to think of that answer.

“What, like a floating red robe full of black void?” he asked, a sarcastic tone to his voice. He didn’t appreciate the still befuddled look Angus was giving him.

“Yes?” he said, and Taako stopped completely now. He put the tray he’d gotten out down, and turned back towards Angus.

“He looks like what now?” he asked, and the only thing that seemed to bother the kid about all of this was how confused he was. Like this should be common knowledge and hey, maybe it should be. You would think Taako would have some idea about the dad of the kid he’d basically helped raise for months at a time.

“Like that,” Angus said, pointing towards the drawing again. “My dad’s a  _ ghost _ uncle Taako,” he added, like that cleared everything up, like it was obvious and he was being silly for not knowing that already. And well…

Taako supposed that explained why he never heard the dude coming or going.

“Huh, that’s weird,” Taako said, reaching over and ruffling the kid’s hair. “I thought you were a half-elf, not a half-ghost,” he added, getting a laugh out of the kid. This was fucking insane and he should be freaking out about it, so instead to went to jokes.

“I can be both!” Angus insisted, trying and failing to push Taako’s hand away. Taako let up after a moment though, going back to putting the last few touches on dinner, putting everything onto the tray and shoving it into the oven.

“Half-elf, half-ghost, half-human, all nerd,” Taako said, Angus sticking his tongue out at that.

“That doesn’t even make sense,” he said.

“You don’t make sense,” Taako countered, earning himself an eye roll from the kid, which was probably fair. Not his best comeback by far.

Two months later, and Taako woke up to Angus gone again. It was a little after his birthday, like he thought might happen. There was another letter, and Taako read the thanks without much real thought. He’d been through this plenty of times by now, there was no reason to think this one would be anything special. No real reason to think he might not see Angus again after this.

Except a few weeks later, and Taako was running a show in Glamour Springs. It had been a good show, until suddenly it wasn’t. Suddenly the world dropped out from under him, everyone who’d ate his food falling one by one. Taako didn’t stick around to see how it would play out, he already knew how it would. Instead he ran, and then Sazed ran.

He got rid of the food cart. Got rid of almost everything inside of it. That stash from Angus’s dad had come in handy after all. He knew it was always good to be prepared.

Somehow, despite the upheaval, despite the tragedy and his whole world coming crashing down around him, life went on. Taako kept traveling, finding odd jobs here and there, just trying to lay low and keep living.

He didn’t see Angus again, and somehow that didn’t surprise him. He didn’t know who his dad was, but even he couldn’t be dumb enough to want to leave his kid with Taako now. Not after that.

And then one odd job turned out to be odder than all the others. It ended up with them on the moon, destroying a gauntlet and remembering a war. With a Director who told them about magical artifacts of incredible power, created by evil red robed wizards.

Taako thought about a few certain papers he’d kept from his caravan, kid’s drawings he really should have gotten rid of. He thought about the bright red scribble and didn’t say anything.

It was only a few weeks after first getting on the moon that they were sent down to deal with getting another one of those relics off of a train. Taako could admit, their covers weren’t exactly great ones.

He been hoping they’d last more than five minutes of being on the train though.

Jenkins was leading them through the train cars. First through the sleeper car and dining car, and then finally to the passenger car. Taako didn’t think much of it as they looked around, Jenkins making some excuse to leave so that he could get lunch started.

He didn’t think much, until he saw a kid sitting at one of the booths. He was alone, his nose shoved into a big book. Taako saw as his eyes glanced up quickly before going back to his book. Then he saw him freeze, like his mind was catching up to what he saw. When he looked up again, a huge grin spread across his face.

“Uncle Taako!” he shouted, immediately drawing most people’s attention. Definitely drawing Magnus’s and Merle’s, who were quickly looking between the kid and him. Angus slammed his book closed, shoving it into his bag before scrambling out of the booth.

“Heh, hey pumpkin,” he said, feeling very put on the spot. He still let the kid slam into him with a hug, and at least the other passengers seemed to quickly lose interest. It was just Magnus and Merle staring at him like he’d gone and grown a second head now.

“Uncle Taako! What are you doing here? I missed you!” he said, and Taako laughed awkwardly, patting Angus’s head.

“I missed you too Ango,” he said, trying to think of how to answer that other question. “Just, ya know. On a train. Traveling. To Neverwinter,” he managed, and he wasn’t surprised Angus was looking at him with suspicion. He was a fucking sharp kid, and Taako could only imagine he’d gotten smarter in the past three years. “Fuck, you’ve gotten big,” he added, and the smile started to come back at that.

“Hey, uh, Taako?” Magnus asked, his whisper not actually all that quiet. “What’s all this then?” Which, yeah. A pretty good question.

“This is Angus,” he said, and he knew that wouldn’t actually cut it but it didn’t hurt to try. “He’s my uh, nephew I guess? Did we decide on nephew?” he added, and Angus laughed at that.

“I think that would make the most sense,” he said with a grin.

“Yeah, uh, not actually my nephew though. Just some kid I used to babysit,” he said, sort of using Angus as an armrest now. Magnus and Merle still didn’t look any less flabbergasted.

_ “Uncle _ Taako?” Magnus asked again, and Taako kind of wanted to bash his head into the wall.

“Who are your friends?” Angus asked, and well it was as good of a subject change as any. He’d take it at this point.

“Right, so this is-” he started, Merle cutting him off.

“Leeman Kessler,” he said quickly.

“I’m Diddly,” Magnus added, and right. Taako had almost forgotten about the code names and the whole mission and all of that. Which, Angus didn’t look like he believed that very much. 

“How’s your dad doing Ango?” Taako asked quickly, not wanting him to have much of a chance to dig into that. The fact that this was a mission dealing with an artifact as powerful as the gauntlet had been was starting to set in and Taako could say he wasn’t super thrilled. Not a fan of the fact that Angus was on this train and might get involved.

“Oh! Oh my dad? He’s fine, he’s uh, he’s doing great, yeah,” Angus said, and Taako frowned at that. There was definitely something suspicious there.

“And he’s cool with you traveling on your own?” Taako asked. To be fair Taako had never met the guy, so many he would be alright with Angus traveling around. He was a bit older than Taako remembered, but he was sure it wasn’t  _ that _ much older. He had no idea what the guy’s reasoning for letting  _ him _ be the one to watch his kid, but he mentioned trust. So he probably wasn’t cool with just anyone taking care of Angus.

“Yes!” Angus answered  _ way _ too quickly. “He’s definitely fine with this and knows that I’m here” he said, and Taako gave him a very unimpressed look. It was the same look he used to give Angus whenever he found him stealing chocolate or fruit Taako had been saving for desserts. It didn’t take the kid very long to crack. “Okay he might not know I’m here exactly but it’s  _ fine.” _

“Whoa, Taako really is an uncle,” Magnus said, making Taako want to pull his hat over his face.

Thankfully, lunch ended up being a distraction pretty soon after that, and Taako hoped that they could have a somewhat normal train trip. Maybe chill out and catch up with Angus some, and then grab the relic once they got to the station and everything would be fine.

Of course that wasn’t what happened. Taako couldn’t say he was all that surprised when Jenkins was killed, Angus explaining that he was on this train to try and catch a fucking serial killer.

“Again, is your dad  _ cool _ with this?” he pressed.

“He knows I want to be a detective.”

“You’re avoiding the question,” Taako said, and he guessed that was answer enough. At least Taako could hold enough respect for his dad knowing that he wasn’t actively encouraging this behavior. Apparently not too good at stopping him, but still. He was a ghost, not sure how much stopping power a ghost had.

And maybe an evil Red Robe who had created the item they were after in the first place, but he didn’t know that for sure.

They did manage to get the relic by the end of it though. They also managed to kill Jenkins, and made sure the train didn’t crash into Neverwinter, killing them and probably hundreds of civilians. All in all a pretty damn successful run. He did end up having to push Angus off the train a little, but the kid was fine.

Once they were back at the station Angus crashed into him with another hug.

“I really missed you uncle Ko. Dad said you got hurt and weren’t able to watch me anymore,” he muttered with his face all pressed into Taako’s stomach. The other two boys were off a ways, Merle assisting with Magnus getting healed up. Taako wrapped an arm around the kid, patting his back some as he sighed.

“Yeah, that’s one way of putting it,” he said. He wondered if his dad actually knew what happened or not, but either way Taako wasn’t really feeling explaining the whole thing to Angus right now. “I missed you too pumpkin. Good to see you’re okay,” he said, ruffling the kid’s hair. Angus grinned as he pulled away, and the weird thing was Taako actually did miss the kid.

“So, is your dad actually around right now, or is he still looking for your mom?” Taako asked. He’d honestly been a little worried when he realized Angus wasn’t coming to stay with him anymore. Sure, he was getting older by the time glamour springs happened, but Taako didn’t know what an appropriate age for kids to stay on their own was.

“He’s home now. He said he’s real close to a breakthrough, but he has to wait before he can do much more,” he explained, and Taako honestly wasn’t sure what that meant, but he hoped it was a good thing.

“You should probably get back before he realizes what you’ve been up to,” Taako said, and Angus sighed heavily.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m sure he’ll be glad I got to see you again though,” he said, and Taako shrugged at that. Then a thought came to him, and Taako glanced back over at Magnus and Merle. The two were still pretty far away and absorbed in their own thing.

“Hey, can I ask you something I never asked before?” Taako asked. Angus cocked his head to the side at that, a curious look on his face.

“Sure.”

“What’s your dad’s name? Hell, what’s your  _ last _ name?” he asked, and Angus actually started laughing.

“You don’t know my last name?” he asked, and Taako guessed it made sense that he sounded a little incredulous. He’d known the kid basically his whole goddamn life, he probably should know something like that.

“Your dad never mentioned it in his letters,” he said, the kid still snickering.

“Angus Bluejeans, my dad’s name is Barry,” he said, a big grin on his face, and that… huh. He guessed Angus must’ve noticed the look on his face, his smile dipping into concern. "Uncle Taako?" he asked, but Taako ignored that.

“And you said your dad is at home right now?” he asked, Angus nodding. “Is he… alive?”

“Not at the moment, no,” Angus said, and well, the kid  _ had _ said he was a ghost. Taako had definitely seen Barry Bluejeans die.

“You got a stone of farspeech?” he asked, and Angus quickly nodded at that, rummaging around in his pockets before pulling out a stone. Taako took out his own, connecting the two frequencies. “Keep in touch, and let your dad know I’d like to talk with him sometime, if he’s ever free,” he said. Angus was absolutely beaming as he took the stone of farspeech back.

“Okay, talk to you soon uncle Ko,” Angus said, giving him another quick hug. Taako hugged him back, and once he pulled away he shoved him off.

“Now get home before your dad worries himself to death,” he said, Angus giggle at the joke.

“Alright, bye uncle Taako! I love you!” Angus shouted as he started to run off. Taako waved lazily as he started to head back to where Magnus and Merle were.

“Yeah, you too pumpkin,” he said.

“That’s still really weird,” Magnus said as Taako walked up to them. At least he seemed to be fully conscious now, which was an improvement from before.

“Deal with it,” he said, and it seemed to get the two of them to let the topic rest for now. They started heading out towards the edge of town, so that they could safely call out a transport canon. It was quiet as they walked, and Taako found his head full of thoughts.

He didn’t fully understand what was going on, but he knew a few things now. Angus’s dad was Barry Bluejeans. Angus’s dad was a ghost, and probably a red robe to boot. Therefore, Barry Bluejeans was probably a Red Robe.

The Red Robes were supposed to be evil, but Angus was a good kid. He definitely hadn’t gotten that influence from Taako, so it had to come from somewhere.

Yeah, he was gonna have to have a talk with this guy. It was the least he could do after helping raise his damn kid for eight years.

**Author's Note:**

> so this is just an expansion i decided to do off of an au I'd talked about a couple times on my tumble. You can find the posts and a little more bits of writing for it [here,](https://kravkalackin.tumblr.com/post/188397317243/angus-knew-from-a-young-age-that-his-circumstances) [here](https://kravkalackin.tumblr.com/post/188409581928/angus-just-wanted-to-help-his-dad-had-barely) and [here.](https://kravkalackin.tumblr.com/post/190085387393/thinking-about-that-blupjeans-baby-ango-au-again) I'm gonna try and do a part 2 for this, cause y'all know these kinda aus are my brand. 
> 
> as always, thanks for reading and i hope you enjoyed!


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